Kesha's Fight For Freedom

HAS THE PARTY STOPPED?

A few months ago I found myself wondering where has Kesha been? Her debut album, titled Animal, came out six years ago. But lately she’s been dealing with a different kind of animal. After she released her sophomore album, Warrior, in 2012 she seemed to have fallen off not only the face of iTunes, but the face of the music industry all together. Little did she know that she would soon have to embody the name of her latest album. On Tuesday October 14th, the 28 year old broke her silence about the man who has been producing her music for the past seven years. Kesha claims that her producer, who goes by the pseudonym Dr. Luke, sexually assaulted her. She also says he was emotionally abusive which landed her in rehab for an eating disorder. She quietly checked into a rehabilitation center in Chicago in early 2014.You might ask why she doesn’t simply find herself another producer. The answer is, unfortunately, not so simple. October of 2014 is when she filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke. A judge ruled that the singer could not be let out of her exclusive contract with the label unless Dr. Luke agreed to end his partnership with the young singer. Dr. Luke is the only one who holds the power to break the contract. He, of course, is denying the accusations and refusing any kind of deal or termination. Sony says they have no control over the contract. A Sony lawyer released a statement saying, “Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances. Kesha’s fans are not accepting the excuses that Sony is providing. In response, a number of fans gathered outside Sony headquarters holding protest signs on the 26th. Kesha’s fans are not the only one’s showing their support. Country pop star Taylor Swift donated $250,000 to Kesha and her family while Lady GaGa stands by her side asking the world to “stop victim shaming.” Several other artists have offered to help her produce music for free or appear on a revival album. We know that Kesha is anxious to not only release the music she has undoubtedly been holding onto for years now but to also break free from her abuser. Let me tell you, this Kesha fan, as well as millions of others, are anxious as well. Since the trial over 400,000 protesters have signed a #freekesha petition which was delivered to the Sony Music office in Manhattan.

A picture from Kesha's Instagram promising her
fans that she will keep fighting.

KESHA'S LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES...

It’s no surprise that Kesha’s abuser and former producer has denied all allegations of rape from the young artist, but now Kesha is being told to deny them as well. Kesha posted an extremely vulnerable photo to her Instagram account with the caption explaining the deal she was offered. She told her followers that she was offered freedom from her contract with Dr. Luke if she were to “lie” about the rape and abuse she suffered at the hands of a man she trusted with her career. Kesha explained that she “would have to APOLOGIZE publicly and say that I never got raped.” She states that things like this happen regularly behind the closed doors of the entertainment industry. She continued saying, “I will not take back the TRUTH. I would rather let the truth ruin my career than lie for a monster ever again.” Kesha, and her supporters, are refusing to back down despite Dr. Luke, also known as Lukasz Gottwald, rejecting the claims. In February he posted about the allegations to his twitter page, “I didn’t rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her. Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister.” Gottwald’s attorneys have since reported Kesha’s Instagram post as “false.” In a statement from Gottwald’s representatives it was mentioned that Kesha had no proof against the producer. “The court repeatedly stated Kesha is already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That’s because all the evidence – including Kesha’s own videotaped sworn testimony – show her allegations are false.” Kesha has released video on her Instagram and other social media accounts singing about the events and her current struggle but there has been no mention of an album in the works, whether independently or with the several willing artists who say they will do so for free. As of April 6th, 2016 Kesha’s case was thrown out by the judge who rejected all of Kesha’s claims. This judge might soon come under fire however seeing as his closing statement was as follows, “Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime.”